Hope Solo Joins Race for U.S. Soccer President

She was suspended from the team shortly thereafter and has not returned. Solo made 202 total appearances with the national team, with 153 wins and an international-record 102 shutouts.

She’s also been dogged by several off-the-field controversies. Those include a domestic violence case stemming from a 2014 altercation at a family member’s home in Washington state.

Other U.S. Soccer Federation candidates include former national team players Paul Caligiuri, Eric Wynalda and Kyle Martino. They’re joined by USSF vice president Carlos Cordeiro, Boston lawyer Steve Gans, New York lawyer Michael Winograd and Paul LaPointe, Northeast Conference manager of the United Premier Soccer League.

The election will be held in February.

Solo said she is campaigning on four core principles: to create a winning culture in U.S. Soccer, starting with youth development; to push for equal pay for the women’s national team and all women within U.S. Soccer; to address the “pay-to-play” model and make soccer accessible to all; and stress transparency within the federation.

“What we have lost in America is belief in our system, in our coaches, in our talent pool, and in the governance of U.S. Soccer,” she said. “We now must refocus our goals and come together as a soccer community to bring about the changes we desire.”

The 58-year-old Gulati had been a driving force in the federation for more than 30 years. During that time, the U.S. won the women’s World Cup in 1991, 1999 and 2015. He helped put together the successful bid that brought the 1994 World Cup to the U.S. and served as executive vice president and chief international officer of the U.S. organizers for the tournament.